'Quit your moping, Toothless.'
'I am not moping, Flamel.'
'Yes, you are. Vel's safe. She's been awake for two days, so quit it. She would have come down to see us if it was possible, but the human-healers forbade it. Thank Arceus Dolly, Rena, and Fuzzy can sneak up there undetected and help keep her company. Vel's fine now, everything's alright. You tried your best to protect her. No one here blames you for what happened. Vel will never blame you.'
'You don't understand! It was my fault! Kel and Kratos were down! Rena was separated from us! Fuzzy is not a battler! I was the only one capable to bring that four-arm freak down! I was supposed to protect Vel! And I failed! If only I heeded Vel's teachings, if only I had evolved sooner! I could have evolved sooner! We all know it!'
'And you did. You evolved to save her.'
'And she would have DIED if Vance didn't appear when he did!'
'But he appeared. You were the one who sensed him when no one else did. You still saved Vel.'
'You don't underst-'
'Oh shut UP. I don't UNDERSTAND?! I am her starter for Arceus's sake, Toothless! I don't understand?! I know damn well the feeling of hopelessness whenever Vel's in pain or got herself hurt for reasons that she was not responsible for! Have you seen her in pain and writhing on the ground in silence because it was too painful for her to even scream? Have you seen how she just endured the pains with a smile on her face telling you that everything is going to be alright?! It happened often enough for me to lose count! You know what? Her condition was already a lot better when I first met her! I cannot imagine the hell she'd been through before that! Every single time I see her in pain back at our home I blame myself for being useless! I am useless as her starter and friend! I cannot stop her pain or neither can I help to share it! Do you know how many times she cried alone on the farm away from other humans because the pains got so unbearable but she doesn't want to worry them? Do you?!' Flamel stopped to catch his breath after his outburst, the flames on his body had grew hotter and bigger in response to his emotions. 'So don't tell me I don't understand. Nobody here understands Vel as well as I do! I was by her side longer than any of you were! She showed me things about herself that she never told others, even her kin. Vel is strong, but she is also vulnerable. If we don't stay strong ourselves, who will stay strong for her? She needs us, Toothless, that includes you. Vel raised you since you were a hatchling, you were like her own kid. So stop blaming yourself, not only will it hurt you, it will hurt her as well. The last thing Vel needs right now is to worry herself sick over us, so stop moping.'
Toothless wanted to retort but was unable to find the words needed for it. He settled for just lying down listlessly on the grass patch. The team is currently located in a large clearing designed to house pokemons belonging to sick and injured humans located behind the building that Velda is currently housed in. The team had chose a spot for themselves in the clearing and spent their time there together while waiting for news of their trainer's recovery. Vance had told them two days ago that she had woken up, but her body's still weak and needed a lot of rest. The human-healers had not wanted any pokemon in her room, saying that it might have adverse effect on her recovery for whatever medical reasons. Vance had merely told Velda's team it was a load of tauros crap and just told the smaller members of Velda's team to sneak up to her room whenever they can to keep her company. He told them that Velda absolutely hated to be trapped in a room on a bed due to her past experiences as a child and that their company would help to lift Velda's mood. It had been two days since Velda woke up, and it was a relief for everyone on the team.
'If you really think that you are the reason why Vel's injured, go train yourself. Get stronger. No one can promise an attack like that won't happen again, but at least we can prepare for them. You got stronger with Vel's help, use that strength to protect her. Even Fuzzy is training on his own accord whenever he's free to do so. Go find Snap. He can teach you how to use your wings properly, you haven't been using your wings after the battle. Go and learn how to fly properly, Vel would love to be able to fly on your back as well.'
Toothless got up. Flamel's right. No one can change what happened in the past, but they can try to prevent their past mistakes from repeating itself. They can help create a future where Velda won't get injured anymore.
'Do you know where Snap went?'
'Probably buried in sand somewhere near here for a sand bath. He told me he wanted to clean himself properly before Vel rides him to our next destination.'
'I see. Thanks, Flamel.'
Flamel snorted as he turned and walked away towards where the rest of the team was resting in a shelter Bigblue had created for them out of rocks.
'Don't worry about it. It's part of my job as Vel's starter.'
How?!
Until now, everything was going according to plan so far. Steven had led several ACE companies together with Winona and teleported themselves outside the rock that was used as Team Aqua's base. As part of the plan, they left a significant amount of their forces outside to surround the rock in case any aquas tried to escape. The interior of the rock would not be big enough to fit the entire ACE force for this mission anyway, no matter how skilled the pokemon that the aquas had in their possession that knows Secret Power. Steven opened the entrance to Team Aqua's base with Secret Power, and the ACE forces followed up by blocking all forms of teleportation in and out of the area on top of closing off every escape route they had found and thought of. The anti-teleportation techniques employed by ACE also means that the teleporting panels within the base cannot be used, and there are rooms in the base that can only be accessed by the panels. Getting into these rooms isn't a big issue. Grip, his starter and metagross, was able to locate every single individual in the base with his psychic powers. All Steven had to do is to send the members of his team in the directions Grip had pointed them to and they forcefully tunnel their way through the rock walls where majority of the aquas were gathered. Coincidentally, there were seven different directions where large numbers of aquas were gathered. Winona led part of the ACE operatives with them in one direction and Steven's five other pokemons went in a different direction each with a small force of ACE operatives behind them. He himself went in another direction together with Grip and the remaining ACE operatives as Grip blasted through the walls with Flash Cannon. They found the leader of Team Aqua, a muscular man with tanned skin, neatly trimmed beard and he wore a bandanna on his head with the logo of their organisation imprinted on it.
Steven wasted no time in battling with the leader of Team Aqua. The ACE operatives that followed Steven battled the aqua admins and grunts while Steven personally took on the leader of the terrorist group. Steven had no idea if it was confidence or foolish arrogance that led the leader of Team Aqua to engage him in a one on one battle, but he's not going to question his good fortune. The man used a sharpedo, which has natural immunity to Grip's psychic attacks due to its part dark typing and a resistance to Grip's steel type attacks due to its water typing. Its speed in the waters surrounding the room also proved to be a problem as Grip had problems hitting the savage fish with its attacks while it sped around in the waters around them. It's still not a concern for Steven. He's someone who is going to be Hoenn's future Champion. He had proved his strength by defeating Wallace in a fair battle. A measly sharpedo isn't an issue.
Despite the disadvantage they faced, Grip nearly defeated the sharpedo until the leader of Team Aqua pulled out a Key Stone.
How on earth had the terrorist managed to learn about the existence of mega evolution?! And where did they managed to get their hands on a Key Stone?!
The Sharpedonite held by the sharpedo, which was hidden from view throughout the battle, reacted to the Key Stone and mega evolved into a mega sharpedo.
The tables were immediately turned. Mega sharpedo pushed Grip back. The powers granted by mega evolution is no joke, pokemons that mega evolved have the capabilities to easily destroy towns even when they are poorly trained for battle. The PWL employed a strict need-to-know-basis policy when it comes to letting trainers under their command learn about the existence of mega evolution simply because the powers of mega evolution can be easily misused.
Like right now.
Mega evolution or not, Grip is still strong enough to take down the sharpedo. However, time is of the essence and Steven absolutely cannot allow any chance for the leader of Team Aqua to run away. Steven idly fiddled the Key Stone he had hidden under his sleeve, he had made his decision.
"Grip, we are going mega."
Grip roared and glowed in a bright flash of light. Mega evolution is not something Steven liked to use on Grip, it turned Grip's personality into a ruthless brute that wins its battle using the most cruel means. It is not a personality he wished to see being displayed by Grip.
Mega sharpedo was zipping through the ocean waters that was present in the large room they were in. Steven guessed that the room acts like some sort of harbour for Team Aqua due to the submarine Steven saw in the same room. Team Aqua's leader would have gotten away in the submarine if Steven had reached this room a moment later. Grip had punched a hole in the submarine with a Flash Cannon to prevent Team Aqua's leader from escaping, and it was the opening salvo that kick-start their battle.
Turning his attention back to the battle, Steven soon realised that mega sharpedo's attack patterns were to avoid Grip's attacks by swimming at high speeds in the waters as it fired pot shots from the ocean waters. Mega sharpedo's greatest strength is its speed. This battle will not end unless Steven and Grip managed to stop mega sharpedo from moving.
"Grip, raise the waters and initiate Water Prison."
Grip released a wave of psychic energy and tried to restrict mega sharpedo's movements by using Psychic on the surrounding waters. Grip raised the waters from the harbour and levitate it into the air with mega sharpedo in it and reshaped the waters into a floating sphere. Grip used his psychic powers to increase the water pressure in the water sphere to crushing levels, transforming the sphere of water into a water prison for mega sharpedo. The water pressure within the sphere was too huge for it to move.
"Finish it."
Seeing that it had finally stripped mega sharpedo of its ability to move, Grip dashed towards mega sharpedo in his new form and rammed it with a Meteor Mash. Mega sharpedo was thrown through the thick walls of the aqua base by Grip, a feat only possible with the strength granted by mega evolution. Mega sharpedo was blasted through the outermost wall of the base and into the sea outside. Mega sharpedo tried to get back up, only to get caught in Grip's Miracle Eye, removing the dark type immunity it had against psychic attacks. Grip immobilised mega sharpedo's movement with a Psychic, and began to slowly crush mega sharpedo inwards into a ball of meat before dropping it back into the ocean.
Grip only ever show such ruthlessness whenever he mega evolved and Steven disliked it. He would never let Grip mega evolve unless he really needs the power.
The leader of Team Aqua tried to release more pokemons, only to find his belt empty of pokeballs.
"Don't bother. Grip had removed your pokeballs with Psychic and hid them away. No one can save you now."
Steven walked up to the terrorist with Grip by his side, ready to launch themselves into battle once more at the slightest hint of danger.
"It's over. Now it's time for you to pay for your crimes."
Judge defended itself from the flames emitted by mega camerupt and retaliated with a Shadow Ball. Norman was thrown off his balance for a short while when the red hair man had mega evolved his camerupt. It's one thing to know about the existence of mega evolution, it is another thing to actually be capable of invoking the process of mega evolution. Mega evolution is not invoked by simply having a Key Stone and Mega Stone in your possession. Something else is needed, but to date, there is no conclusive answer to what that 'something' is. Even after the trainer and their pokemon had managed to successfully invoke the process of mega evolution, both the trainer and pokemon have to undergo a lengthy process of learning how to harness the huge increase in power to prevent themselves from getting hurt due to their ignorance on how to utilise it. According to historical records, there were trainers and pokemons during the warring states era who took months or even years to have the powers under perfect control. Trainers who had managed to achieve this feat were rare, but they usually brought victory to the group that they are affiliated to by completely annihilating their enemies. The devastation to the environment brought about by mega evolution during the warring states era was why PWL erased all records of its existence the moment it was founded. In modern times, gym leaders usually only take about a week to master these powers thanks to the invention of accessories that helped to harness the powers of the Key Stone more effectively. Pokemons that were highly trained usually need a shorter time to harness the powers as well. There were a few exceptions where trainers had pokemons who were poorly trained but yet able to harness the powers of mega evolution in a very short time. Professor Sycamore had theorised that this was because there was a very strong bond between the trainer and pokemon, which is the key to allow mega evolution to happen.
Norman doesn't really care about the scientific explanations regarding mega evolution right now. The fact that these criminals managed to not only learn the existence of mega evolution, but also managed to use it properly is a huge cause for concern.
The PWL will be in an uproar the moment they knew about this.
Norman and the red hair man had let their teams out as they battled each other. Norman didn't have the time to watch over the battles of the other members of his team except for Judge, who was battling the red hair man's camerupt. The red hair man is strong. Norman would have given him his badge if he was a normal trainer. His camerupt is well-trained and is definitely stronger than most Elite level pokemon. Norman didn't allow the use of the more destructive attacks his pokemons had in their arsenal, doing so would cause the entire volcano to collapse on everyone in it. It limited the options that they had and caused their battles to drag on more than is strictly necessary. Luckily, that isn't a major problem. The red hair man is strong, but Norman and his team is a lot stronger. Defeating the red hair man wasn't a problem, it just takes time.
Then the red hair man started to laugh hysterically as he mega evolved his camerupt.
Judge was immediately pushed back by the powers of mega camerupt and Norman had no choice but to let Judge use the more destructive moves to try and bring it down as fast as possible. They are winning, but the entire volcano will get destroyed even before their battle is finished. His operatives had long since finished their battles and was forced to evacuate the cave due to the amount of power being thrown around in Norman's battle with the red hair man. Norman had sent them beyond the metal doors where the magmas had first appeared to make sure that they didn't leave out a single magma. This mission isn't over yet, not until they had cleared and checked every single nook and cranny in Team Magma's base and rid the magmas of it.
The entire volcano shook once more as mega camerupt took Judge's punch head on without even flinching. Mega camerupt tried to roast Judge with a Flamethrower which Judge simply shrugged off. This battle is going nowhere. The longer the battle took, the higher the chance for the red hair man to escape.
"Judge, switch places with Khan. A prolonged battle is not suited for our situation."
Judge roared in acknowledgement as Norman's kangaskhan lept into battle from where it was and slapped mega camerupt with a Fake Out, causing it to flinch. Judge quickly swap places with kangaskhan as it engaged kangaskhan's previous opponent, a weezing.
"Khan! Mega evolve!"
The Key Stone embedded on Norman's bracelet reacted to the Mega Stone that Khan held. A few seconds later, a mega kangaskhan stood in front of Norman, ready and raring to battle.
"Power-Up Punch!"
Khan charged and sent mega camerupt a powerful punch. Khan's child followed up with a Power-Up Punch on its own. The ability of mega-kangaskhans is Parental Bond, allowing both the parent and child of the species to share their powers when they mega evolved. The infant will always follow the parent to battle and they will attack in pairs one after the another, with the child using the same move that the parent used. Due to their ability and characteristics they show in battle, what is meant to be a single attack will effectively be two attacks. The Power-Up Punch was delivered twice, causing Khan's power to increase twice.
Mega camerupt tried to retaliate with a Flame Burst only for Khan to defend itself with a Water Pulse. Mega camerupt used the moment that Khan was defending itself to charge in with an Iron Head. Khan raised its arms to block the attack but was sent skidding back as mega camerupt continued to use its momentum and strength from Iron Head to push Khan backwards.
"Crush Claw then Drain Punch! Weaken it!"
Khan's claws glowed as it slashed at mega camerupt and weaken its defensive powers before stealing some of its health with Drain Punch. The punch from Khan's child sent mega camerupt backwards a few feet away, who tried to shake off the damage.
"Use Return!"
Khan shouted a war cry with its child as they punched mega camerupt together and sent it crashing down onto the stone floor. Mega camerupt roared back as it tried to get Khan off itself with an Eruption. It succeeded as it bought just enough time for it to get out of the crater it was punched into before Khan came back for its next round of attacks.
"Mega camerupt, Earthquake!"
A massive earthquake shook the volcano once more, this time it was a lot more bigger than what Vance had caused earlier. Norman hoped that the Earthquake from mega camerupt would not cause Mt Chimney to somehow trigger a volcanic eruption of its own. They also need to end the battle quickly before they are all buried alive within Mt Chimney.
"Comet Punch! Don't let it have the chance to fight back!"
Khan charged towards mega camerupt as it rained down a barrage of Comet Punchs at mega camerupt. It is a very basic move that every kangaskhan is able to use naturally. Comet Punch allowed the user to rain down a series of punches on its opponents but the power behind each punch isn't that great. Not for Norman's kangaskhan. Norman had trained Khan so hard in this move that it made every single punch behind Khan's Comet Punch to be equivalent to the force produced by a single Mega Punch. It is a move that they often use to surprise and suppress their opponents when they don't want them to have a chance to retaliate. Hardly anyone will invest a large amount of time in trying to perfect a basic move. To Norman, a basic move is sometimes what he needs to win a battle. He does not tolerate sloppiness during training, even if the purpose of the training is to perfect a basic move.
Their hard work had paid off.
Mega camerupt tried to fight back by unleashing its flames, but everytime it tried to open its mouth it will get forcefully closed shut by a precise and heavy Comet Punch from Khan. It tried to force the volcanoes on its back to erupt, but every attempt to do so will be interrupted by a hard punch to its belly from below, courtesy of the infant kangaskhan. Its health is being whittled down at an alarming speed and it cannot do anything to stop it.
Mega camerupt knows it is losing, and so does its trainer.
"Camerupt! Explosion!"
With a determined bellow, mega camerupt pushed Khan off before glowing a bright white.
"Everyone get back! Use Protect!"
Norman released his lopunny from its pokeball who immediately used Protect to guard him. The rest of Norman's team followed its example as they put distance between them and their opponents and regrouped around Norman, using Protects of their own to create a dome of Protect around themselves with Norman as the center.
The Explosion from mega camerupt shook Mt Chimney once more and a large ball of fire swept across the entire cave and washed itself across the dome of Protect created by Norman's team. What is the red hair man planning?
The Explosion had died down by now, but a large cloud of smoke is in the way.
"Hunter! Get rid of the smoke!"
Norman's staraptor cleared away the smoke with its wings. Mega camerupt had reverted back into a camerupt and laid unconscious on the floor. There were other pokemons on the red hair man's team that were caught in the blast of Explosion and they either laid dead or fainted from the blast.
The red hair man was nowhere to be seen as well as several of his pokemons.
"Damn it! He escaped! We need to capture him dead or alive! Kill any of the enemy's pokemons on the ground that isn't dead yet! Move out!"
"THE VOLCANO'S ERUPTING!"
"Shut it, siscon, it's not erupting, at least not yet. Some idiot probably used an Earthquake somewhere. Concentrate on the battle!"
Vance grumbled under his breath as he commanded Macky to battle the magma admins together with Flannery's camerupt. They had regrouped with Charcoal's group and found a large number of Team Magma's forces shortly after near the heart of Mt Chimney. It was a cave that had a river of lava flowing through the center of the cave with rock cliffs on both sides. Overall, the interior of the cave looked like a canyon with a river flowing through it, except said river is a river of lava. The magmas were found on one of the cliffs where Vance and co. had entered. The cave they found themselves in wasn't that big, and both the ACE forces and magmas were forced to use only one or two pokemon per person or risk getting pushed off into the lava beyond the edge of the rock cliff where their battles were taking place. Vance and Flannery are battling a pair of admins who the magma grunts referred to as Admin Tabitha and Admin Courtney. The male admin, Tabitha, is commanding an emboar while the female admin, Courtney, sent out a heatmor for battle.
Flannery grimaced, the heat is getting unbearable ever since they ventured near the heart of Mt Chimney. People and pokemon will get cooked alive at this rate. Some of the ACE operatives had to be pulled out of the area as they were on the verge of a heatstroke. This mission had gone on long enough. It's time to end things once and for all.
"Siscon! Cover me! I'm ending the battle ASAP! Mark! We are going for a power boost!"
"Don't call me sis-"
Vance's complaint was ignored as Flannery's camerupt bellowed and pushed heatmor back with a Stone Edge. It lowered its head and braced itself for the increase in power it is going to experience soon.
"Mega evolution!"
Vance watched in awe as Flannery's mega camerupt threw their opponent's emboar and heatmor back with a single Headbutt. He knew of mega evolution. He was loaned a Key Stone and a Gengarite for this mission but he only had a single day with Macky to try and familiarise themselves with the power. He's not going to perform a mega evolution unless it's strictly necessary. Macky is good enough with it, but still hasn't manage to get the powers of mega evolution under complete control just yet.
They only had a single day to try it out, after all.
"Mark! Bulldoze!"
Vance tried very hard to balance himself as a single stomp from mega camerupt shook the entire cave they were in. Macky remained unaffected thanks to his Levitate ability. The emboar and heatmor fell down onto the ground together with their trainers and they were pressed onto the ground. The increase in power shown by Flannery's mega camerupt is probably somewhere near the power of a pokemon owned by an Elite Four member according to Vance's estimation. Even Wallace would have trouble trying to fight it in a one on one battle without the power of mega evolution.
"Mark! Crush them with Heavy Slam!"
Vance watched as mega camerupt jumped (How did it do that?) into the air.
"Courtney! RUN! Live to fight another day! For our dreams!"
Tabitha grabbed the female admin and threw the female admin away from the falling mega camerupt just right before it landed on them. Tabitha and their pokemons laid dead beneath mega camerupt, squashed beyond recognition.
"TABITHA!"
"Macky! Grab her!"
Macky gave a cackle as it dashed towards the female admin who released a houndoom just in time. The houndoom knocked Macky back and blasted Macky with a Dark Pulse. The female admin ran across the only stone bridge that led to the other side of the cave. The bridge is narrow and only allowed a single person to travel through it. Her houndoom had used itself as an obstacle and blocked anyone from chasing after its master by positioning itself at the entrance of the narrow stone bridge and battled with Macky. Flannery's mega camerupt tried to snipe the female admin with Flamethrower but Courtney released a volcarona that used a Protect to shield her. Flannery was about to release her charizard to fly after the admin but Courtney had already reached the other end of the cave, destroyed the stone bridge with her volcarona and disappeared into one of the numerous caves found on the other side of the cave.
Flannery stomped on the ground, angry that an admin had managed to escape from her. "Damn it!"
Macky had killed the houndoom by now and floated beside Vance, who had walked up to her.
"I'm going to go mega with Macky as well. Our comrades will not be able to last as long as the magmas in this heat. These magma bastards had time to acclimatise themselves to this environment, most of our operatives don't have the experience in fighting in such conditions. We will lose by battling with them in a war of attrition. We need to end this quickly."
"I will cover you. Do it."
Macky dashed off in a surge of bright light and landed in the middle of the chaotic battlefield as a mega gengar. He ensnared every single living being he deemed as an enemy with his new ability, Shadow Tag. There's no way he will allow any of his prey to escape.
Macky loved Velda as much as Vance did. He watched her grow up. These guys may not be the ones who had hurt Velda, but he can sense the evil in them as bright as the sun which he abhorred so much.
The collective evil they emitted is revolting, even to a ghost like him.
"Kill them all."
Macky acknowledged Vance's commands with a loud hollow laugh as it dashed towards his preys from the shadows, killing them in creative yet morbid ways. The magmas witnessed their pending doom with wide eyes. A gengar had defied all logic and evolved further right before their very eyes and is killing their members left and right. Some of them had their guts ripped out of their bodies. Some of them were left with holes in their bodies as gengar punched through them. Some were dismembered and torn from limb to limb while they are still alive and screaming. There were even some who were eaten alive as gengar swallowed them whole.
Hell had arrived.
Many of the remaining magmas screamed as they tried to escape the living hell that manifested in the form of an evolved gengar but found themselves unable to move far away from the living nightmare. They can only move around a certain radius away from the gengar. Their shadows were pinned to the ground by an unseen force which forced them to stay rooted on the spot. No shadows can exist without matter and no matter can exist without shadows. They will always be together. If the magmas' shadows are pinned down, so are their bodies.
There's no other way for the magmas to escape this living hell until death claimed them in the worst ways imaginable.
The remaining magmas, who had already lost all of their will to fight, sunk listlessly onto the ground as they watched the evolved gengar tearing into their ranks and reaped the lives of their comrades violently. Some of the remaining magmas had fainted from horror and there were a few who had wet their pants in fear. At least their deaths will be short, that gengar doesn't seem interested in playing with its food.
Their only remaining admin tried to take down the evolved gengar with his pyroar, but the pyroar suddenly float into the air and expanded like a balloon before popping in a shower of blood and guts with a Psychic from the gengar. The evolved gengar laughed hysterically like it had just popped a normal balloon instead of a living being, its laughter sounded like the calls of death beckoning for them to come to its embrace.
"Macky, knock the admin out with a Hypnosis. We need him alive. See if you can do the same to the other magmas as well."
The last thing the surviving magmas remembered in their hideout was a pair of glowing magenta eyes.
No way.
Team Magma had a legendary in their hideout all along?! HOW did they manage to find it in the first place?!
"HAHAHA! Surprise? I was surprised myself when I found Groudon here on Mt Chimney! It was the most fortunate thing to ever happen to me! We were only trying to build our base here when we found it sleeping within the lava of Mt Chimney, it's probably the reason why Mt Chimney isn't an extinct volcano yet! Don't you see the wondrous powers Groudon held? It's beautiful! A volcano won't die simply because Groudon decided to make its home in it! It remained alive simply by being in Groudon's presence! With Groudon's powers, we can expand the landmass for our dreams! Come join me, operative! You are strong, I can overlook this incident if you decide to join us in our cause! Your strength will be invaluable! With Groudon, Team Magma will be INVINCIBLE!"
Norman shook in rage as he took a step forward to apprehend the criminal, only for the red hair man to stop him.
"Ah, ah." The red hair man warned Norman off by wagging a single finger at him and pointing down into the sea of lava where Groudon slumbered. "Don't take another step forward or I will wake this sleeping beauty up. The fact that it is still sleeping doesn't mean that we haven't tried waking it up. We still don't know what we need to wake it up, but I figured that bringing the entire Mt Chimney down on it ought to do the trick even though I hadn't tried that particular method yet. My darmanitan here is more than enough to do just that." The darmanitan that was beside the red hair man this whole time beat its chest with pride after hearing its trainer's words. "Return your pokemons back to their pokeballs and put your pokeballs down onto the ground in front of you where I can see them. I can wake Groudon up faster than you can get me. What do you say, operative?"
Norman gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. The red hair man had forced him into a corner. He tried to calm himself down. There's still some hope left, he just have to trust his companions to do the job.
The responsibility of ensuring Hoenn's continued survival lies on them now.
He gave a very subtle gesture with his hands as he recalled the visible members of his team back into their pokeballs and slowly placed them in front of his feet in a single line while crouching down. Any time now.
"Splendid!" The red hair man cried out. "Alright, darmanitan, Flame-"
"You talk too much. Zack! Shifter!"
Whatever the red hair man planned to say was cut off as two kecleons appeared out of nowhere. One of them wrapped its long tongue around his darminitan and swiftly dragged it away from the red hair man. The other kecleon charged towards the red hair man who tried to release another pokemon. The kecleon simply dislocated his shoulders with two well-placed hits that made the red hair man cried in pain. The kecleon melted as it revealed its true form, a ditto, who swiftly elongated its body and used it to wrap itself around the red hair man tightly like a rope, making sure that the man cannot call out anymore of his pokemon and stuffing part of its body into his mouth to prevent him from speaking.
Norman had let out his team once again by now, and they quickly assisted kecleon in taking the darmanitan down.
"Good job, Zack, Shifter. You just saved Hoenn from a catastrophe."
Norman's pokemons replied to his praise proudly, and Norman turned to look back at the red hair man.
"By the league's orders, I'm taking you into custody, leader of Team Magma. There will be no salvation for you."
I was discharged from Ever Grande Hospital a week after I woke up.
On the fourth day after I woke up, Dad and Mum finally managed to get permission to visit me in Ever Grande Hospital during the afternoon much to my surprise. Vance had told me before he left for his mission that Ever Grande was on lockdown due to how important Ever Grande City is to Hoenn, and was the main reason why I didn't see Dad and Mum around when I woke up.
When I asked my parents how they managed to get permission to visit me at Ever Grande, Dad simply showed me the day's newspaper.
'Team Aqua's and Team Magma's leaders caught and their base destroyed!' was the headlines of the newspaper. Vance had done it. My information was accurate and ACE had used it to take down the main forces of Team Aqua and Team Magma.
I eagerly devoured the news as I quickly read through what was published in the newspaper while Dad sat beside me on my bed and my Mum sat behind me combing my hair. Steven Stone had apprehended the leader of Team Aqua while Norman had caught the leader of Team Magma. Miraculously, there were no casualties on ACE's side although the reporter had noted that a sizable number of the ACE operatives had suffered from heatstroke while completing their mission within Mt Chimney. There were also a few operatives who sustained serious injuries, but they are expected to make a full recovery.
The Hoenn League managed to put an end to the tyranny of Team Aqua and Team Magma only ten days after the attack on Lilycove.
The news caused a massive ripple of reactions across Hoenn. Many rejoiced at the fact that these two terrorist organisations were finally put down. However, the Hoenn League had warned the public that the war with Team Aqua and Team Magma is far from over. There were many members of the two groups who were not in their main base at the point of the raid. There were also several admins of both groups who had either escaped using unknown means, or wasn't in their group's hideout at that point in time. The pictures of any known members of both groups who were still on the run was printed on the papers as the league warned members of the public not to engage these criminals under any circumstances and to inform any league personnel if they had news on them.
Still, the Hoenn league had finally dealt a massive blow to the two criminal groups that had plagued its lands for so long. The citizens of Lilycove were elated at the news and they were especially grateful to Steven and Winona, who were instrumental in the raid on Team Aqua's base. I am unsure on what to think about when I learned about the identities of the leaders of Team Magma and Team Aqua, Maxie and Archie. On one hand, they were the same people who led their respective groups back when I played pokemon emerald. On the other hand, I have no idea what impacts my actions had on this world. How had things changed now? Will it be for the better or for the worse?
From what I could read, there were also other things that are changing. Steven had cemented his position in the hearts of the people of Hoenn after the raid on Team Aqua's hideout. People are now looking forward to the day when Steven would officially take over Wallace as their Champion despite his young age. His role in ending Team Aqua's reign had helped to boost his popularity immensely, something that he needed if he were to be our Champion one day. People are already pushing the Hoenn League to instate Steven to be their Champion as soon as possible.
The news had also reported that Wallace was on another top-secret mission on his own that was critical to destroy Team Magma and Team Aqua's plans. Some members of the public were unhappy at the fact that nothing was reported on what exactly Wallace did. People were hungry for information after the attack of Lilycove. They feared what they didn't know. I know what kind of mission Wallace was on and I'm glad it wasn't reported on the news. Information about legendaries should be a tightly kept secret. Reading the press's interview with Wallace made me breathe out a sigh of relief. The fact that he could go for an interview with the press after his mission is proof that he managed to get the orbs to a safe place while not getting harmed by the orbs' mysterious powers. I sent him a personal message to thank him for his hard work, no one else would have been capable enough to go on that mission.
Upon my request, Vance had helped me to convince the Hoenn League, with a little help from Wallace, to keep my identity as the secret informant to where the bases of the two criminal organisations were located a secret from the public. The news had reported that an informant had gave away the locations of Team Magma's and Team Aqua's hideouts, and the public was curious as to who informed the Hoenn League about their locations. I don't need, and I don't wish for any unneeded fame or publicity. The fact that I was able to help to put these two groups down is enough reward for me.
The newspaper had also revealed how Team Aqua and Team Magma had eluded the Hoenn League's radar for so many years using Secret Power. Due to the misuse of this move, the PWL mandated that every single trainer in the world have to register themselves with their respective regional league should they own a pokemon with the ability to use the move Secret Power, or if they know how to teach that move to pokemons. The harsh and sudden policy created quite a stir across the world but it was welcomed with open arms in Hoenn. We had firsthand experience on how the misuse of this move took away so many innocent lives on our own soil.
Hoenn was previously put on Code Red when Lilycove was invaded and it had now relaxed to Code Yellow. People can now continue to travel in and out of Hoenn although they have to go through a list of stringent checks before doing so. Dad had speculated that things would probably go back to normal after a month when everything had died down a little.
Mum had fussed over me the moment she entered my room. I was reading a book I had taken from my backpack. My backpack was bloodied with my own blood during the attack on Lilycove. She took a look at my backpack, took it back home with her when the visiting hours are over that day and came back with a new backpack the very next day with my belongings all transferred and neatly packed inside it.
We may get into arguments occasionally, but it is small things like these that made me realised that we actually love each other very much.
My parents can only visit me for two hours each day since the league is still wary of another possible attack by the remnants of Team Aqua and Team Magma in a quest for vengeance, and put in place a heavy restriction on how many visitors can visit Ever Grande everyday and how long they can stay in it. Ever since the doctors told me that I am able to walk around outside my room on the third day after I woke up, I spent a large part of my time outside on the clearing behind the Ever Grande Hospital with my team. I was glad to see that they were alright. Rena had told me that Toothless felt very guilty and kept thinking that he was responsible for my injury. I had to spend an entire day trying to get Toothless to realise that NO, he wasn't responsible for my injury, and that I should be the one thanking him as he was the one who saved me. I felt a little guilty for missing out on his evolution from a charmeleon to a charizard. To me, my pokemons' evolutions is a milestone that I should be there with them for. I had missed Toothless's final evolution, even if it was because I was dying from blood loss.
The nurses know that I suffered from a mild case of PTSD after experiencing the attack on Lilycove. I cannot allow my thoughts to wander as it will eventually come back to all the blood and death that I saw in Lilycove. I had a few nightmares about the attack that left me screaming hoarse in the middle of the night and the nurses had to administer medication to allow me to have a dreamless sleep. So when I asked if I could spend my free time outside with my pokemon instead, they relented, on the condition that they were to be informed of my whereabouts at all times. It wasn't an unreasonable request, so I agreed.
The gym leaders I had met all sent me messages to wish me a speedy recovery, and I was touched to see that they were genuinely concerned at my well-being. I knew that they were all busy trying to keep their respective cities safe and in order, but they still found time to worry about me. I replied each and every one of their messages, telling them that I am fine and would be expected to be discharged from the hospital soon.
I never saw Vance after he left for his ACE mission on the second day after I woke up. He still hasn't returned when I discharged from the hospital. I guessed that he must be still busy trying to hunt the remnants of Team Aqua and Team Magma that had managed to escape the raid. I sent a message to him to tell him that I was alright and not to worry about me. I wasn't too worried about the lack of reply to my message, I know Vance will get back to me when he's done with his missions.
I spent a large part of my free time waiting to be discharged trying to teach Toothless how to fly with help from Snap. It serves as a good distraction from the images I keep seeing in my head, the ones that I had saw in Lilycove. My pokemon will all huddle around me as I spent time with them, and it was a frequent sight for the residents of Ever Grande Hospital to peek out of their windows and see me taking a nap in the clearing with my pokemons.
When I was finally discharged from the hospital, the league were helpful enough to offer me a one-time, free teleportation service to any city in Hoenn I wanted to go after my discharge. Logically, I should have teleported to Mossdeep straightaway for my next gym challenge. However, I chose to go back to Lilycove.
I needed closure.
I still felt a bit weak and feverish when I reached Lilycove. The part of the town where most of the battle took place was almost unrecognisable. I walked through the debris and wreckage as I recalled what had happened at the spot I passed through when I was here trying to help defend Lilycove. I saw the spot where we had fought machamp and I recognised the scorch marks of Overheat, which Toothless had probably used to kill it. I saw the area where the defense force had been overrun. There were still blood stains that hadn't been cleaned up yet.
It wasn't hard to locate the large board erected at the middle of Lilycove where the KIA and MIA list was posted. Bouquets of flowers were placed on the ground where it stood. I didn't prepare any flowers beforehand before coming here, so I asked Fuzzy to help me gather some wildflowers and we placed them on the ground and prayed for them.
I hoped that if reincarnation is possible for them like what it happened to me, I hoped that they can lead a better life in their next life. A life without strife.
Looking through the KIA list, I realised that Vance was right. There were many people who were part of the defense force in the KIA list, a large part of them were volunteer trainers. Vance told me that many of them had only about three gym badges. Other than that, a huge part of the total death toll in Lilycove were the civilians who did not manage to get to safety when the attack happened. Another significant group that made up the death toll were the LSDF officers that were killed in the Draco Meteor fired by that salamence.
They died because I was too weak to stop the Draco Meteor attack.
I spent some time there staring at the board, trying and failing miserably in my attempts to remember the names of those who had fallen in battle. These people were the ones that I had fought beside with. It felt right that I should commit their names into my memory to honour their sacrifice.
I just couldn't remember the names, no matter how hard I tried and how long I stared at the board.
"Velda? Is that you?! Thank Arceus! You are alright!"
I turned around and saw Officer Haley, who is now wearing plain clothes and running up to me. The only other difference is that her right arm is now in a sling.
"O-Officer Haley?"
Officer Haley gave me a one-arm hug. She did not apply much pressure to it, probably fearing that her hug might aggravate any injuries I had that she could not see. She knelt down to my eye level as she scanned my body with her eyes for any visible injuries, and heaved a sigh of relief when she found none. My head injury on the back of my head had totally healed a day ago. The medical technology in this world is a lot more advanced than those in my previous world, which I am glad for as it means I don't need to spend a long period of time cooped up at the hospital waiting for my head wound to heal. Thankfully, there were also no side effects from my injury other than the small bouts of fever which I'm currently experiencing. The nurses had told me it was perfectly normal and I would make a full recovery in time. There would be a small scar on where I had injured my head, but that's the extent of the injury. Even then, the scar can be easily hidden thanks to my long hair, which had grown to the middle of my back.
Officer had gently ushered me to sit with her on a nearby bench. Fuzzy made himself comfortable on my shoulder while Rena simply laid down on my lap to provide me with some silent company.
"I knew you were safe when I didn't see your name on both the KIA and MIA list, but you weren't in the Lilycove Hospital either. Thank Arceus you are safe! Are you alright?!"
"Physically, yes. Other than that? I don't think I will ever be alright."
"I would send you to the shelters if I had the chance. A battlefield isn't what you are supposed to see and experience at your age. But then again, your pokemons were a great help in helping to defend Lilycove. I saw how they battled."
"I never wished to see them battle in this manner." I replied bitterly. "I-I ordered them to kill, you know? I know it was necessary, but..."
"Hush, it's alright now." Officer Haley gave me another hug. "You did well to survive. It was originally our job as LSDF officers to defend the town, but most of us were taken out in that Draco Meteor. Speaking of which..." Officer Haley released me from her hug and looked at me in the eyes. "Thank you for redirecting the Draco Meteor."
"I still failed." I clenched my fist as I felt my tears threatening to spill out of my eyes again. "So many other innocents died because I was incapable of destroying it. If only I was stronger..."
"What you did helped to save some of my friends and colleagues, my fiance included. The Draco Meteor only destroyed half of our office thanks to your timely intervention. Many of us died, that's true, and there were also a number who were too injured to help out after the attack. But there were a few who managed to escape the brunt of the attack and helped to defend the city or to guide any civilians they found to safety. There were people who survived thanks to you. As an officer, I thank you for your help in saving the lives of my comrades. As a woman who is about to get married to her fiance, I will thank you, once again, for saving my husband's life. My garchomp was trying to intercept the attack but we were too late. My fiance would have died if it wasn't for you."
"Wait... that garchomp was yours?!"
"Is it that surprising? I am an Elite trainer, Velda, even if I do not look like one. Many of the higher rank officers in Lilycove are Elite trainers. My fiance is one too, but he was too injured after that Draco Meteor to help out in the city's defense, so he settled on helping to guide the civilians to safety instead. He's still bedridden from the injuries he sustained in the attack, but he's alive, thanks to you. We decided that if we ever have a daughter of our own, we will name it after you. Of course, that is if you don't mind us doing so."
I looked at Officer Haley in shock. "I don't think that's a good idea, Officer Haley. I am not exactly a good role model for people to follow."
"What you did was an action that only heroes do. The public wasn't informed on who tried to stop the Draco Meteor but the whole of Hoenn LSDF knows about it, and we are grateful to you. If you ever decide to pursue a career with the LSDF, you will definitely be welcomed into our big family, especially here at Lilycove."
I remained in silence as I pondered over Officer Haley's words. What she said was not a shocking revelation, but it was a surprise nonetheless.
"By the way, Officer Haley, do you know how many from our defense force had survived the attack? Excluding us."
Officer Haley took a while to recall before replying. "We were severely outnumbered and drained when we were overrun, so I didn't managed to see who survived when I was escaping from the front lines. What I knew were all told to me by word of mouth or by digging through the KIA list. I know that two of our LSDF officers survived the initial attack, but one of them succumbed to his injuries in the hospital a few days later. There was also a ranger who survived. He helped to defend his fallen comrades until help from ACE arrived, but like the LSDF officer, they passed away a few days later. Their injuries were simply too severe. There are also a few volunteer trainers, four of them, who survived. Most of them who survived were Elite trainers. The only one who wasn't an Elite trainer is an intermediate trainer. She had to abandon the battle halfway due to the fact that most of her pokemon were all knocked out and she chose to seek shelter after that. It was the best course of action for her. I would have been killed too, if my garchomp didn't manage to swoop in and get me away from the front lines when we were overrun. I am thankful that my garchomp came to rescue me when it did."
"My pokemons saved me too. I received an injury to my head here." I pointed to the back of my head where my head wound was and lifted my hair enough to let Officer Haley see the small scar, a reminder of my participation in the battle of Lilycove. "I was knocked unconscious by a machamp, you might have seen it rampaging when it broke through our defenses. It took out my absol and pupitar in one hit and threw my espeon far away from me." Rena gently nudged me with her head trying to comfort me as I spoke. "The only pokemon I had that were near enough to defend me was my charmeleon and Fuzzy here." I raised a hand to stroke Fuzzy, who is still perching on my shoulder and squeaking at me in concern. "My charmeleon forced himself to evolve to save my life. From what I know from the nurses, my pokemons helped to stem the blood from my head wound and bought me enough time for ACE to arrive and send me to Ever Grande Hospital via teleportation where they treated my wounds. I would have died otherwise. My charmeleon, now a charizard, actually felt guilty for not being able to protect me from harm, and I tried to keep telling him that it is not his fault and that I was the one who should be thanking him for saving my life instead. He stopped moping, so I think my words had gotten through him."
Officer Haley slumped back slightly in her seat after listening to what I spoke. "Pokemons sure are man's best friends, huh?"
"They are." I replied with a small smile. "Don't know what I do without them. I would probably still be cooped up at home."
"Where are you planning to go now, Velda? You are challenging the gym circuit, if I recall correctly. Are you planning to go to Mossdeep anytime soon? Most trainers who passed through Lilycove were aiming to compete in the Mossdeep gym challenge. All gym challenges were temporarily put to a halt after the attack on Lilycove, but they had resumed after ACE's successful raid on the aquas' and magmas' bases. The Hoenn League is trying to bring some sense of normalcy to everyone as soon as possible. I wonder who provided the information on the location of their bases? The Hoenn League didn't reveal the informant's identity. I wonder what kind of person that informant is? He or she did a great service to the whole of Hoenn."
"Maybe that informant is also another kid like me? It would be possible. Kids like me don't like to be in the spotlight." I replied sarcastically.
"Maybe. But I thought youngsters like you love to be in the spotlight?"
"I don't know about others, but I wouldn't be those youngsters. And to answer your question, yes, I plan to go to Mossdeep tomorrow. I don't want to sit around and do nothing. Every time I let my mind wander I would remember about..." I do a vague sweeping gesture to our surroundings with my hands. "...this. It's unpleasant. I need something to do to distract me."
"Understandable. How about you stay with me for tonight? My house is on the other side of Lilycove and was unaffected by all the fighting. It's better than staying in the pokemon center, that place is a mess right now. No reply? I take it as a yes then!"
I wasn't given a chance to voice my opinion as Officer Haley simply grabbed my hand and started to drag me in the direction of her house, Fuzzy and Rena just simply followed Officer Haley. Rena's precognitive powers can help determine a person's true nature to a small extent. If she is ok with Officer Haley, I guess it would be fine to impose her for a single night.
"Thank you for your offer, Officer Haley. But I still think naming your future daughter after me is a bad idea."
"Just address me by my name when I'm off duty. If you don't want me to name my future daughter after you, I could always name you her godmother then. Which one do you prefer?"
"On second thought, naming your future daughter after me sounds like a way better idea than me becoming her godmother."
"My fiance and I can always name our daughter after you and name you her godmother."
"For the love of all that is holy. Please. NO."